9 ways for nurses to boost their confidence levels

Nobody ends every single day feeling like a rock star. But it’s important to keep everything in perspective…and that couldn’t be more true when it comes to nursing. Transitions in Nursingrecently blogged about nine ways to boost your confidence as a nurse. Check out four of our favorites below, then head over to the site to read the rest!

9 ways to improve your confidence as a nurse

1. Boost your nursing skills

From training courses in facilities to outside providers, there are numerous nursing courses for improving your skills.

2. Be prepared

Sounds like Nursing School 101, right? It is. Being prepared is almost half the battle–at work and in life in general. Here are a few glaringly obvious examples (but sometimes we forget. No worries, we’re all guilty sometimes!):

Have a checklist of things to remember to take to work

When going in to a patient’s room for something, ask yourself: Do I have everything I need?

When calling a physician, be prepared with the chart/report/whatever you need to relay to the doctor

3. Enjoy what you do

I say this over and over, but if you hate what you do, it’s very hard to feel good about doing it. When you don’t feel good about doing something, you probably also won’t get good at it and won’t feel confident doing it. It’s that simple.

4. Be curious

Learning doesn’t end when school ends. Ask questions. For example, if someone is doing a bedside procedure that you are not strong in, ask to watch or participate if allowed and the patient/family is comfortable. When you come across medications, ailments or surgeries that you have never heard of, look them up. Nobody knows it all (even if they act like they do). The more you learn, the more confident you will feel in what you do.

Transitions in Nursing is written by Alicia-joy Pierre, RN, who's a writer, speaker and nurse career coach. Alicia-Joy enjoys helping fellow nurses connect with their inner genius and forge career transitions that make their hearts sing and their wallets happy. Alicia-joy is also an avid reader, adventurer and has an insatiable appetite for learning.
By Transitions in Nursing